Tag: 2017

January 20, 2017 – 12:00 pm – Washington, DC.

Dear Friends, Clients and Subscribers,

I have recently returned to the U.S. from an overseas trip since just before the election. (We vote by mail in Washington State) I have actually been enjoying being out of the country during this time. I have been well aware and keeping tabs on what happened and was happening here, but I was glad that I didn’t have to spend a lot of time commiserating in misery with all of my lefty progressive friends. It did, however, make it all seem even more surreal.

I did receive gusts of the collective angst of the left side of the national divide as I was doing Skype Readings for my U.S. clients who were in anguish and asking if they should sell their stocks or not.

Part of the time I was away I was in China and watching the English Channel TV news station there. It was quite interesting to look back on it all from their perspective. Insights from that will percolate into future articles I expect to be writing.

Since I have been back, watching and hearing the daily news, I definitely feel that I have been thrown back into the thick of it. Through the writing of my book: ‘The Astrological Karma of the USA’, I feel I have set myself up as someone who is trying to make sense of it all. There are times, however, that I can nostalgically pine for the days that I could be more oblivious to it all.

Nonetheless, I accept it as my fate at this time to try to help out in this way. Below I will post a flyer for a lecture I will be giving here in Seattle, where I will be looking at the Astrology charts of the U.S. at this time, the Inauguration and of President Donald Trump. If you are in the Seattle area I invite you to come check it out. I do plan to record it and make it available somehow.

I will also be writing some future articles about the U.S. and Donald Trump Astrology charts. Today, however, I just want to share some insights into the chart for the Inauguration, which is the symbolic ‘birth’ of the Trump Presidency, as I feel it has some very interesting things to say, some of which I can recognize as already manifesting.

As a kind of ‘mission statement’ in response to one subscriber’s claim to my having a bias against Donald Trump; I have no intention of hiding the fact that my personal politics are well left of center. That being said, I honestly feel that anything I would say about Donald Trump’s chart or his Inauguration chart is an expression of what I would say about anyone with the same chart, no matter their political affiliation.

In the interest of trying to make this more clear and obvious I am going to rely more often than usual upon direct quotes from the main source of my Astrological insights, the book: ‘Astrology Plus’* channeled from the Ascended Master Hilarion.

There is a larger backstory to what is going on in the world at large at this time Astrologically. How that has, is, and will be impinging upon the Astrological Karma of the USA is likely to be the topic of a future article, and I will be starting with that topic in my lecture next Sunday.

Today, however, I just want to look at the Inauguration chart. Of course the Inauguration chart is an Astrological ‘snapshot’ of what we are all generally experiencing at this time on Planet Earth, in addition to some of the specifics for January 20, 2017

January 20, 2017 Inauguration Chart

The largest Astrological theme of this decade are the Pluto/Uranus Squares we have just come through, and which are still in effect. Pluto in Capricorn, thus deep intense transformation of major organizations, structures, and the world economic system, which has been in tension with Uranus in Aries, i.e. courageous, perhaps rash and impulsive, unconventional efforts of revolution and change, and freedom from old patterns that have outlived their purpose.

These are the themes of hard Pluto/Uranus aspects which can be viewed throughout history when they were occurring, and this is a major factor in the manifestation of these themes in obvious ways on the world stage in recent years. The houses that these planets are performing in, whether in your own chart or a nation’s chart, is more personal and specific as they change every two hours every day. So, we will look at what house this Pluto/Uranus tension falls in in this Inauguration chart.

During this last year or so, however, we have also had the added Astrological theme of some Saturn/Neptune squares. Now, any difficult Neptune aspect will challenge us with the ‘victim/victimizer’ program and a certain ‘test of faith.’ This has been impacting, in particular, the Sagittarian self-image of the United States, and is clearly a major factor in the flavor and results of the recent campaign season.

Now the Saturn/Neptune tension has passed the peak, but this same theme reappears in this Inauguration chart. The Neptune end of this tension was in the sign Pisces, a sign that is ruled by Neptune and also quite prone to the ‘victim/victimizer’ program, increasing the likely intensity of this kind of challenge. Now, even though the Saturn/Neptune tension has eased off, Saturn in this chart, is squaring Venus and Mars in Pisces. And, Neptune, Venus and Mars are all in the house of ‘karma with former enemies.’

In the interest of objectivity here are some Hilarion quotes:

Eleventh House When the planet of love (Venus) is found in the house of former enemies, the significance is clear: that the individual should seek ways of expressing affection for those with whom he feels an echo of the old hatred or rivalry carried over from an earlier life.

Eleventh House When Mars is located in the eleventh house of a natus, there is a clear indication that those souls who in previous lives were cast in the role of opponents or enemies will again be part of this life, and moreover that the old resentments and conflicts with such souls have yet to be resolved. A person with this martian placement would do well to survey individuals who have played “enemy” roles in his life, and to seek ways of resolving those tensions. Even if such opponent souls are no longer in contact, the individual should look within himself and find a way to dismantle any resentment or dislike which he may still be harboring. Remember that if you die to this life with the least shred of resentment or dislike for any other soul, you must inevitably be drawn back into earthly incarnation with that same soul, there again to be put through the same tensions and differences that caused the original estrangement. This law is inflexible and governs all human souls.

So, it isn’t difficult to recognize that the adversarial nature of what has been termed the ‘Divided States of America’ (resonant with the theme of former enemies) is going to be an on-going challenge during this Presidency.

Although there could also be an involvement with other ‘former enemies’ to the U.S. i.e. Russia, China, Islamic ‘Jihadists’ etc.

Fortunately, Mercury in serious Capricorn is in positive aspect to Neptune in this chart. Mercury is coming from the house of belief system and should help us all to make the effort to ‘rise above the fray,’ to understand and communicate the, to my mind, only way out of the victim/victimizer program which is:

Unconditional love, for oneself and for others, total forgiveness, for oneself and for others, and spiritual faith, trust and surrender, to where there are no victims of victimizers, but just all of us little boys and girls trying to do the best that we can….even Donald Trump.

I do make the point that compassion doesn’t necessarily mean that you be a doormat. As every parent knows, you have to be on ‘the razor’s edge’ raising children. You can’t be too soft and you can’t be too hard. Otherwise either you are power tripping them or they are going to power trip you.

So, our challenge is to stand up for what we believe to be right but to not be coming from ego and losing our human capacity for compassion. In this regard I can tell that the next four years will be a ‘great opportunity for growth.’ This kind of opportunity does seem to be particularly evident in this chart.

Now these Saturn squares to Venus and Mars are not the most challenging elements of this chart. Pluto is in the house of belief system, and square to Jupiter in the house of work, service, activity in the world, and Jupiter is opposite to Uranus in the house of the deeper unconscious and past memory, and Uranus, in turn, is square to Pluto, again, in the house of belief system. This completes a ‘T-Square.’ This is where any Astrologer looking at this chart is going to go “Yikes!”

Here are a few quotes about a Jupiter/Uranus tension, which was exact on December 26, 2016, and will recur on March 2nd and September 28th of this year:

The expansive nature of Jupiter, the shocking nature of Uranus, and the antagonistic nature of the opposition mean that there is likely to be particular sudden event that releases your built up tension and leads to a major change in circumstances. The more restricted you have felt, then the more upsetting the change is likely to be. (found at astrologyking.com)

Clearly a reflection of what just happened to our nation in the election of Donald Trump, the legacy of which will be an ongoing factor in the unconscious psyche of the nation. Donald Trump himself has a Jupiter/Uranus trine, something he has been using to good effect his entire life.

Additionally:

But their (Jupiter and Uranus) combination can also produce dogmatic conviction of the rightness of their vision. This, as the driving force in challenging outmoded structures, can lead to the breaking down of old ways of organizing human life without regard for the consequences. They can also jointly manifest a restless drive towards innovation or revolutionary change, which cannot leave things alone which may be working perfectly well just as they are. They can also operate together with hubristic arrogance, usually with destructive consequences. (Found at astro.com)

Now Uranus also rules technology and is related to the birth of the Internet. To me this is relatable to the unconscious, not clearly known uncertainty of just how much the Russian computer hacking did influence the election, how much collusion may have existed between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or the Jupiterian, perhaps exaggerated, reaction to Hillary Clinton’s emails and of course, a President who incessantly ‘tweets.’

This Uranus/Pluto/Jupiter T-Square is a clear manifestation of the on-going Uranus/Pluto impulse to ‘throw the bums out’ taking place not only here but around the world.

This Inauguration chart, however, is the birth of an entity which will most likely exist and function for the next four years, which may well indicate an on-going, perhaps behind the scenes, revolutionary Uranus in Aries activity at odds with what is going on in the on-going daily life of the nation. Quite likely this will involve activities on the Left and the Right.

There is also a Jupiter/Pluto tension here, however, which is made more intense due to the fact that the Pluto end of this tension is in the house of belief system, which is ruled by Jupiter.

Here is a quite telling quote about a Jupiter/Pluto square in general:

Jupiter Square Pluto
This indicates that your personal philosophy and attitudes will condition your life, and because they tend to be fixed and dogmatic can serve to bring you into conflict with others. This philosophy or set of beliefs will either be ‘self-created’ or tend to reflect older, more traditional religious dogma; either of them is likely to be out of phase with much of contemporary life and social development. You will either express a peculiarly unique and personally individual outlook, or be willingly absorbed within a traditional structure. Basically, you are likely to be antagonistic to the modern world, believing that it is taking the wrong direction, and will be inclined towards a desire to reform the outer world and people so that they begin to conform to your world vision. There is a tendency towards mental arrogance, a certainty of your own way being right as opposed to the ways of others; and you are unlikely to be receptive to alternative beliefs and new ideas. You will be an active exponent of your way, expressing it forcefully to others, either by a challenging of their beliefs or by attempts at conversion; you feel that you have a mission to perform, and this conviction gives you the inner strength to continue. If rejection occurs, you tend not to use that experience as a means to re-evaluate your beliefs, but inwardly reassert your own sense of righteousness. Whilst it may appear that your own system of belief is intellectually founded, the truth is that it is rooted deep in your emotions, and you feel its personal meaning very intensely, thus whilst attempting to challenge and persuade others, you maintain a barrier to outer challenges against yourself. You are afraid that if your belief structure cracked and began to fall apart, then your inner cohesiveness as a personality would too, as your identity is so intertwined with your own beliefs. To some degree, most people are in a similar situation to yourself, where self-identity is defined by beliefs, opinions, attitudes, thoughts, emotions and body; in defending personal convictions you are defending yourself. It may be that your particular belief is not obviously religious; it could easily be political (Found at astromatrix.com)

Adding that to the fact that the Pluto is in the house of belief system and square to Uranus in the house of being ‘behind the scenes,’ or in the unconscious, adds to the intensity of this T-Square in terms of a pretty major ideological battle, the results of which are anybody’s guess.

When I talk about Uranus with clients I often repeat what I heard Astrologer/Author Liz Greene say at one time:

“Astrologer’s favorite pastime is trying to predict what a Uranus transit will be when it hits their chart, and they are always wrong.”

Now, one more quite telling factor here, especially when you have access to insights given by Hilarion is what he says about Jupiter in the house of daily life when difficulty aspected:

Sixth House
If Jupiter is in the sixth and negatively aspected, the indication is that the native will receive many rebuffs in life due to his inability to interact sincerely with others. The lesson of sincerity is a paramount one for him, and until it is learned, little true personal happiness can be found.

I think we have seen this quite a bit, including quite recent remarks on the part of President Trump and his Press Secretary, i.e. that the feud with the Intelligence community was created by the media, and that the crowds at his Inauguration were bigger than Obama’s when photographic evidence seems to clearly indicate that is a false statement. When I look at this chart I think we can expect more of the same.

And yet, whacky as those statements were, it did take down the headline of 2.6 million people in this country and others in 32 other countries marching in protest to the Trump Presidency from being the top story. Is it just Uranian impulsive wackiness, or clever Plutonian manipulation? In this chart I would have to say, probably a bit of both.

(As I am still working on this article since I wrote the above, we have now the additional apparently fraudulent claim that the reason Trump lost the popular vote was because of voter fraud.)

Adding to the theme of insincerity and dishonesty is the Mercury in the house of belief system. Again, in the interest of absolving myself from the accusation of having a penchant of bias, here is the Hilarion quote:

Ninth House
When Mercury is located in the ninth sector, there is an indication that the individual has forgotten the “precepts of righteousness” which he had acquired in earlier lives. The association of Mercury with an early childlike state is the rationale for this connection. Usually, the soul has passed from a state of “knowing” to a state of “forgetfulness” in terms of the Laws of Being, and one purpose of the present life is to restore the memory that has been eclipsed. The lesson side of this placement is thus obvious. Karmically there is a requirement that the individual pass through various episodes when his attempts to be less than completely honest and above-board will land him in hot water.

Now, fortunately, this Mercury is not difficultly aspected, but in early 2018 and throughout that year, transiting Saturn will be on top of that Mercury. I expect some concrete manifestation of someone landing in ‘hot water’ around then.

And knowing that Uranus is in opposition to the Jupiter in the sixth house penchant for insincerity, I believe we may see surprise revelations, perhaps Internet hacks, that reveal/expose this Jupiter in the sixth house insincerity.

I also tend to feel that this Uranian, revolutionary, potentially liberating force, behind the scenes, hidden away in the twelfth house is relatable to an emerging Progressive backlash to the policies and beliefs being implemented in the daily life of the nation over these next four years, also energized perhaps by duplicity in the conduct of things.

It should make for a quite interesting 4 years!

Toward the end of 2018 Saturn will harmonize with the Neptune in the house of Karma with former enemies, so this ‘hot water’ from the Mercury in the ninth house moral test could lead to some resolution and restoration of faith, compassion and healing between former adversaries.

Saturn is also in the house of other people affecting your money, and in harmony with both ends of the Jupiter/Uranus opposition. These positive aspects could bring a bit of a sober, stabilizing influence upon some of this Jupiter/Uranus craziness. Somehow other people, other political parties, or other nations affecting our finances could provide some grounding ‘reality check’ here. This reminds me of an article in the current issue of ‘The Economist’ magazine: ‘China the Global Grownup.’

Pluto, in the house of belief system, is also in positive aspect to the former enemy, Pisces, victim planets, so I think, eventually, some Higher Wisdom may prevail there.

The last, and also very telling, component of this chart I want to mention is in regards to the position of the Sun in this chart.

The Sun is clearly going to represent the President himself in such a chart. In researching and working on this article I’ve discovered that, as a result of scheduling the Inauguration to always be on the exact same date and at the exact same time, to the minute, means that every Inauguration chart has a Taurus self-image (Ascendant) and a Capricorn projected image to the world (Midheaven).

This is what Hilarion says about having these two earth signs on these angles:

Capricorn
This sign appears commonly at the M.C. coinciding with either Aries or Taurus rising. It tends to cause a projection of the more serious and cautious traits of Capricorn into the outer picture. Others will see the individual as practical and hard-working, with little time for play. But play is precisely the right prescription for these individuals, particularly those with Taurus rising. In such cases the preponderance of earth on the angles weighs down the spirit and must be counteracted with light, enjoyable activity undertaken for pleasure alone.

In that light I would venture to say that it is therefore appropriate to make use of the therapeutic benefits of watching Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, John Oliver and/or Bill Maher over the next four years.

The other consistent factor is that the Sun in our Inauguration charts is always in the first degree of the sign Aquarius, which is helpful in encouraging the potential for embracing a humanitarian group consciousness. The Sun is also always in the house of work, career, ‘role in the world’, again, rather appropriate for a Presidential Birth Chart. It makes me wonder if there was some secret member of the Masonic Lodge with esoteric knowledge involved with these choices.

What is relatively unique about the January 20th, 2017 chart, however, is that the Sun, although it is conjunct the Mid-Heaven, and therefore the most elevated, visible and prominent entity in the sky, it nonetheless has no positive, and no difficult, aspects to it. In effect, it is dangling up there by itself.

This brings to mind what Liz Greene said about having an ‘unaspected’ planet like this. She said that in such a case the planet would tend to live in the unconscious and not be easily integrated into conscious awareness.

I also remember something that Master Hilarion said about having the ‘D’ sound in a name in his book ‘Symbols’:

At the time when the parents are selecting a name for their child, the guides and guardians attempt to influence the choice in order to produce a first name which either a) reflects the traits or karma of the soul which is their child, or b) will influence the pattern of the life in such a way that the karma will be encountered. The latter effect is normally the case for the letter D. In other words, souls who must for karmic reasons go through a period of loneliness and separation from others are “labeled”, so to speak, with the sound D. Of course, not everyone who has the D in his first name will recognize this effect in his life, but comparison with the lives of others will usually show how the effect has manifested.

These two factors give me a sense of Donald Trump’s Presidency, as it progresses, becoming one where he is very isolated, perhaps a figurehead, but other people are really running the show.

In searching for the last time that the Inauguration Chart had an unaspected Sun, I had to go back until 1977, the Inauguration of President Jimmy Carter. It does seem to my memory that President Carter definitely ended up being rather isolated in his views, and rather overwhelmed by the flow of external events and attitudes, giving rise to the Ronald Reagan era.

Of course my liberal side would love to believe that this parallel between the two Presidencies could portend a one-term Presidency for Donald Trump as well. We shall see.

In this light, however, I might note that the most telling event I witnessed, personally, on the day of the Inauguration was when newly Inaugurated President Trump was signing Executive orders, a ceremony where the President normally uses a different pen for each order and gives it to someone present as a memorial gift.

I saw President Trump sign a document and give a pen to Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. Ryan, however, put the pen back on the table and left it there. At the end of the signings Trump picked up the pen and tried to give it back to Ryan, but Ryan had turned away and hadn’t taken it. Then Trump, left holding the pen in his hand, tried to find someone else who would take it. At first, no one wanted to take it, and then someone finally did, but they apparently felt uncomfortable receiving it, and ended up giving it to Melania Trump….

In the Congressional luncheon that day I heard Paul Ryan give a glowing speech of praise for Vice President Mike Pence. The combination of that speech, the symbolic incident with the pen, the unaspected Sun in the Inauguration chart, and the fact that most of the cabinet picks are old school Republicans, many of whom have views on issues that are counter to those expressed by Trump himself, gives me a sense that this may become more of a Pence/Ryan Presidency than a truly Trump Presidency.

This reminds me of a joke told during the George W. Bush years: “If Dick Cheney had died, Bush would have become President.”

I do have some additional things to share about collective movements in the soul and psyche of our nation, and specific Astrological ‘exams’ approaching for our new President. These I will reserve for a future article, unless you want to come down and hear me on Sunday.